Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction, 3/21/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers

Date: Friday, March 21, 2025

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: Rip City Television Network

The Denver Nuggets (44-26) are on their way to Moda Center on Friday where they will attempt to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers (31-39).

The Nuggets took the court against the Lakers and took a loss by a score of 120-108 in their last game. When it comes to personal fouls, the Nuggets walked away with 17 and the Lakers racked up 17 personal fouls. They also knocked down 16 out of their 38 attempts from beyond the arc. Los Angeles walked away from this one shooting 71.4% from the charity stripe by making 20 of their 28 attempts. Moreover, Los Angeles grabbed 38 rebounds (8 offensive, 30 defensive) and had 4 rejections. Los Angeles distributed 25 assists and had 13 steals for this game. In reference to the defense, Denver allowed 50.6% from the field on 42 of 83 shooting. They also doled out 25 assists for the contest as well as forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and getting 8 steals. When talking about grabbing boards, they earned 45 with 12 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Nuggets converted 13 of 21 shots for a rate of 61.9%. Denver walked away from the game having earned a 47.1% FG percentage (41 out of 87) and converted 13 out of their 39 3-point shots.

Aaron Gordon is someone who came through for this game. He walked away with 26 points on 9 out of 14 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 30 minutes and collected 11 boards. Gordon finished the game at 64.3% from the floor but had no assists at the end of the game.

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Denver heads into this contest with a record of 44-26 for the campaign. They are losing possession via turnover 14.3 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 17.7 fouls per contest. As a unit, Denver is pulling in 45.7 boards per contest and has totaled 2,174 assists on the year, which ranks 1st in basketball in terms of passing. The Nuggets are hitting 38.1% on shots from distance (854 of 2,243) and 77.3% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 120.9 pts per game (3rd in the NBA) while shooting 50.6% from the floor.

Defensively, the Nuggets are forcing 13.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.9 personal fouls. They give up 36.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 24th in the league in points per game allowed (116.8). The Nuggets defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 46.6% (3,031 of 6,505) and they surrender 42.4 boards per contest as a basketball team. They currently rank 30th in the NBA in allowing assists with 2,038 conceded this season.

The last time they took the court, the Trail Blazers got the victory with a final of 115-99 when they played the Grizzlies. The Trail Blazers were able to pull down 43 defensive boards and 22 offensive boards totaling 65 for this contest. They also gave up possession of the ball 17 times, while getting 3 steals in the matchup. The Grizzlies committed 20 fouls in this game which got the Trail Blazers to the charity stripe for a total of 21 tries. They were able to knock down 17 of those for a percentage of 81.0%. With regard to shooting from beyond the arc, Portland converted 18 out of 46 tries (39.1%). Overall, the Trail Blazers went 40 out of 96 from the field which had them shooting 41.7%. The Trail Blazers permitted the Grizzlies to bury 37 out of their 92 tries from the field which left them shooting 40.2% in this game. They finished 26.7% from distance via 8 of 30 and finished the game at 17 of 21 at the free throw line (81.0%). When talking about rebounds, Portland allowed Memphis to snag 40 in all (10 offensive).

Deni Avdija was important for the Trail Blazers for this contest. Avdija accumulated 31 points in his 39 minutes of playing time and had 8 dimes for this contest. He made 9 out of 18 for this game giving him a rate of 50.0%, and accounted for 16 rebounds.

Portland has a win-loss mark of 31-39 on the campaign. The Trail Blazers are committing 19.3 personal fouls every game and they connect on 76.8% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 23.6 times per contest (27th in the league) and they turn it over 16.1 times per game. Portland has tallied 7,745 pts for the campaign (110.6 per game) and they collect 44.6 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Trail Blazers are connecting on 45.1% from the floor, which is 25th in the league.

The Trail Blazers defensively are ranked 16th in basketball in PPG allowed with 114.0. They are able to force 15.1 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 46.8% from the floor (18th in the league). The Portland defense concedes 36.1% on shots from distance (900 of 2,494) and their opponents are making 79.8% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 26.2 assists and 44.3 total boards per game, ranking them 13th and 17th in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Denver

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